What is John McCain Hiding About His Health?

Fifteen days before the election, serious gaps remain in the public’s knowledge about the health of the presidential and vice-presidential nominees. The limited information provided by the candidates is a striking departure from recent campaigns, in which many candidates and their doctors were more forthcoming.

In past elections, the decisions of some candidates for the nation’s top elected offices to withhold health information turned out to have a significant impact after the information came to light.

McCain would be the first cancer survivor ever to win the presidency. Good for him. But because of his refusal to release his medical records, many questions remain about the likelihood of his melanoma recurring. As a cancer survivor myself, I think — no, I deeply believe — that it’s incumbent on the press to ask him to be forthcoming about this:

A critical question concerns inconsistencies in medical opinions about the severity of his melanoma; if the classification of his melanoma is more severe, it would increase the statistical likelihood of death from a recurrence of the cancer.

With all the challenges before us, having a President who has to undergo, say, chemo or radiation would be a disaster. It takes all your energy to get through this stuff. And especially with chemotherapy, it can seriously affect your cognitive abilities (it certainly did mine). That’s not "ageist," it’s not below the belt," it’s just the truth. And if we had a national press worth their salt, they’d be hounding McCain for answers instead of endlessly repeating the stupid Ayers spin that the majority of Americans do not believe is a legitimate campaign issue.

What is John McCain Hiding About His Health?

Fifteen days before the election, serious gaps remain in the public’s knowledge about the health of the presidential and vice-presidential nominees. The limited information provided by the candidates is a striking departure from recent campaigns, in which many candidates and their doctors were more forthcoming.

In past elections, the decisions of some candidates for the nation’s top elected offices to withhold health information turned out to have a significant impact after the information came to light.

McCain would be the first cancer survivor ever to win the presidency. Good for him. But because of his refusal to release his medical records, many questions remain about the likelihood of his melanoma recurring. As a cancer survivor myself, I think — no, I deeply believe — that it’s incumbent on the press to ask him to be forthcoming about this:

A critical question concerns inconsistencies in medical opinions about the severity of his melanoma; if the classification of his melanoma is more severe, it would increase the statistical likelihood of death from a recurrence of the cancer.

With all the challenges before us, having a President who has to undergo, say, chemo or radiation would be a disaster. It takes all your energy to get through this stuff. And especially with chemotherapy, it can seriously affect your cognitive abilities (it certainly did mine). That’s not "ageist," it’s not below the belt," it’s just the truth. And if we had a national press worth their salt, they’d be hounding McCain for answers instead of endlessly repeating the stupid Ayers spin that the majority of Americans do not believe is a legitimate campaign issue.

Jane Hamsher

Jane is the founder of Firedoglake.com. Her work has also appeared on the Huffington Post, Alternet and The American Prospect. She’s the author of the best selling book Killer Instinct and has produced such films Natural Born Killers and Permanent Midnight. She lives in Washington DC.Subscribe in a reader